Editorial: Officials should adhere to open meetings law

District Attorney Mike Harson recently informed the Lafayette Parish School Board it had violated the state's open meetings law earlier this year by not providing detailed information on an agenda item prior to discussing it.

It was the second time. Harson had warned the board of an open meetings violation on the part of some of its members in 2011.

These violations were most likely not deliberate. And although two occurrences could not rightly be called a trend, it is disturbing nonetheless.

The so-called "Sunshine Law," which extends to ordinary citizens access to public records, was enacted to provide transparency in government. The business of government in this country is the business of all its citizens.

The most recent violation that prompted Harson to chastise the school board involved choosing a health care plan provider for district employees, according to a report in The Daily Advertiser. At least one previous agenda did not include enough information about the board's proposed actions to meet the requirements of the law. It simply stated that a new health plan provider would be chosen, but included no details or supporting documents.

The 2011 incident revolved around the question of whether the contract of former Superintendent Burnell Lemoine would be renewed. In that case, Harson said the board's actions were not necessarily a clear violation, but violated the "spirit of the law."

Prior to the school board's May 4, 2011, meeting, some board members had sent text messages and emails polling one another as to whether they would vote to renew Lemoine's contract.

"It's almost like a vote," Harson reportedly told the school board members. "Your vote is supposed to be public and these comments that are being made implied that some of your votes aren't being made in the public."

There was never an actual vote, as Lemoine announced his retirement before the matter was addressed.

Harson speculated that perhaps Lemoine had retired because he knew in advance he did not have enough votes in his favor, according to a June 2011 report in The Daily Advertiser.

Furthermore, he told them, "The law says the public has a right to hear your deliberation."

Harson was right. Article XII, Section 3 of the Louisiana Constitution states that "no person shall be denied the right to observe the deliberations of public bodies and examine public documents, except in cases established by law."

That is to ensure there are no backroom deals, no secret agreements struck before the public has an opportunity to learn about an issue and to voice their opinions on it to their elected officials.

In the 2011 incident, Harson let the board go with a stern warning that if there were more violations, he might take action.

So far, he has not.

There is no reason to believe these procedural lapses had any hidden agendas behind them or malicious intentions behind them. School board members probably didn't know they were committing infractions in either case.

But that in itself is unacceptable. Part of every elected official and every public employee's job is to comply with the laws governing open records and public meetings.

All public officials should know and understand the law, so they will always know when they are about to cross the line.

The Daily Advertiser, in conjunction with the Louisiana Press Association, is in the process of planning a workshop on the laws governing public meetings and records, which we will offer to our local officials to help them understand all the provisions and nuances of this important law.

Elected officials are given a great deal of responsibility and a great deal of power. It is important that they discharge those responsibilities and wield that power in full view of their constituents.

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Editorial: Officials should adhere to open meetings law

District Attorney Mike Harson recently informed the Lafayette Parish School Board it had violated the state's open meetings law earlier this year by not providing detailed information on an agenda